Tortured For Christ by Richard Wurmbrand

Free copies of Tortured For Christ by Richard Wurmbrand can be obtained by clicking here. The book is an autobiography and tells the story of the tortures that the founder of the Voice of the Martyrs received for the faith while spending 15 years in a Romanian prison. I had a couple problems with the book. Wurmbrand was a Lutheran minister but seemed to be a supporter of decision theology and at times throughout the book regards theological disputes as irrelevant. Still, the book is extraordinarily valuable.

The book gives us a glimpse into the lives of Christians suffering real persecution. The Bible presents us with a picture of persecution as being part of the ordinary Christian's life but we don't feel it as much in America. In America people think they are being persecuted if the lady at the check-out doesn't with them a Merry Christmas. But throughout much of the world, Christians still suffer persecution. We should support them both in our prayers and in other ways.

The book reminds us of the real evils of communism. In a more general way the book shows the danger of civil religion. As the book shows, communism was helped along by the church. For various reasons, they saw communism as beneficial. So leaders within the Baptist, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and other churches supported communism. American civil religion seems to be on the rise. American civil religion seems to center around free market capitalism rather than communism but exchanging Christ for either is still idolatrous and dangerous. We could be headed for a dangerous "revival" where churches that support American civil religion will grow and grow and the Bible will be quoted more and more in the public square but historic Christianity will not be tolerated.

The Feast of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist: A Devotional Commentary

Ezekiel 2:8-3:11 But you, son of man, hear what I tell you; don’t be rebellious like that rebellious house: open your mouth, and eat that which I give you. When I looked, behold, a hand was put forth to me; and, behold, a scroll of a book was therein; He spread it before me: and it was written within and without; and there were written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. He said to me, Son of man, eat that which you find. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat the scroll. He said to me, Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your bowels with this scroll that I give you. Then I ate it; and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. He said to me, Son of man, go to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them. For you are not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel; not to many peoples of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words you can not understand. Surely, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you. But the house of Israel will not listen to you; for they will not listen to me: for all the house of Israel are obstinate and hard-hearted. Behold, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made your forehead: don’t be afraid of them, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house. Moreover he said to me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. Go to them of the captivity, to the children of your people, and speak to them, and tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

Ephesians 4:7-14 But to each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Therefore he says, “When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” Now this, “He ascended,” what is it but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;

Matthew 9:9-13 As Jesus passed by from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection office. He said to him, “Follow me.” He got up and followed him. It happened as he sat in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. But you go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

St. Matthew was a sinner and he knew it. He was a tax collector. As much as people hate the IRS today, they had even more reason to hate tax collectors when Jesus walked the earth. Tax collectors not only collected money for the pagan emperor, they made their own money by charging more than the emperor demanded. Matthew was a professional extortioner. When Jesus had a meal, most of the time He chose to eat with the professional extortioners and sinners, rather than the "righteous." The righteous had not need for Him. The righteous may have found Jesus' knowledge of the Scriptures intriguing and may have enjoyed some theological debate with Him, but they didn't need Him. Jesus simply says to Matthew, "Follow me" and Matthew is up and running. Matthew sees his need for Jesus. Matthew knows his need for Jesus.

Jesus told the Pharisees that He desires mercy, not sacrifice. The Pharisees and dedicated their lives to the study of God's law. They had sacrificed their free time so that they could be experts in the law. They had given their lives to the Lord. They weren't like these "nominal" Jews who continued to live in sin. They were "real" Jews. They had no mercy for sinners because they had no knowledge of how bad their own sin was. They could not allow themselves to be influenced and tainted by having fellowship with these sinners.

We act the same way. We look down on those who struggle with sins that we don't struggle with. We convince ourselves that we might make mistakes but we're not "sinners" like they are.

But Jesus came for sinners. Jesus came for sinners like Matthew and you and me. Jesus is God's mercy for you. Jesus does not come and give you a list of things to do so that you can improve your life and be fit for the kingdom in the company of the Pharisees. Jesus takes your sins upon Himself. Jesus forgives you.

Trinity 16: A Devotional Commentary

1 Kings 17:17-24 It happened after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so severe, that there was no breath left in him. She said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, you man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son!” He said to her, “Give me your son.” He took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the room where he stayed, and laid him on his own bed. He cried to Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh my God, have you also brought evil on the widow with whom I stay, by killing her son?” He stretched himself on the child three times, and cried to Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh my God, please let this child’s soul come into him again.” Yahweh listened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the room into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, “Behold, your son lives.” The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of Yahweh in your mouth is truth.”

Ephesians 3:13-21 Therefore I ask that you may not lose heart at my troubles for you, which are your glory. For this cause, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know Christ’s love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be the glory in the assembly and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Luke 7:11-17 It happened soon afterwards, that he went to a city called Nain. Many of his disciples, along with a great multitude, went with him. Now when he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, one who was dead was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Many people of the city were with her. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said to her, “Don’t cry.” He came near and touched the coffin, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” He who was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. Fear took hold of all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited his people!” This report went out concerning him in the whole of Judea, and in all the surrounding region.

All men fear death and death is what we deserve. Death is what we receive as the payment for the life that we live. Death is what we earn for all our accomplishments. But Jesus is far more powerful than death. Elijah stretched out his body in the form of a cross over the widow's son and the boy was given life. Through baptism we are united to Christ in His death. On the cross, Jesus took our death upon Himself and gave us His life. Christ took our sins and gave us His righteousness. Because we have died with Him, we will also be partakers in His resurrection.

Theology is For Proclamation by Gerhard O. Forde

Augsburg Fortress sent me a complimentary copy of Theology is For Proclamation by Gerhard Forde. In it, Forde argues that theology should not be discussed as a series of abstract concepts but should be proclaimed. Our theology should be shaped by proclamation rather than the other way around. Forde builds on Luther's theology of the cross and the distinction he makes between the hidden God and the revealed God. Many systematic theologies concentrate their attention on the hidden God in His Divine majesty. Forde argues that preaching and systematic theology should not be considered as independent from one another and should both center around the revealed God. The hidden God is not safe and does not bring us the comfort that the revealed God does. Forde shows how both conservatives and liberals misss the point when they focus their attention on the hidden God. Overall, I thought the book was excellent and well-argued. There were a few times that Forde questioned the reliabilty of Scriptural passages and it did not seem to serve his argument. The book also seemed unnecessarily complicated. I think it could have been written at half the length and in much simpler language. It seems to be targeted at the seminary student, but I don't think it benefited in any way from the technical language. I have heard preaching by more than a few Lutheran pastors (including my own) that measure up to Forde's criteria. I don't know if this due to Forde's influence on Lutheranism in general or something that had always been there. But it's wonderful to hear preaching that centers on the revealed crucified-God rather than trying to probe inside of God's head either to discover what social movements he wants us to be a part of or simply to do mental gymnastics. As Luther is quoted as saying, "The only God I know is the hairy one."

The Feast of the Holy Cross: A Devotional Commentary

1 Corinthians 1:18-25 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the lawyer of this world? Hasn’t God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn’t know God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe. For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Greeks, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

John 12:20-33 Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast. These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn, Andrew came with Philip, and they told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there will my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. “Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this time?’ But for this cause I came to this time. Father, glorify your name!” Then there came a voice out of the sky, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The multitude therefore, who stood by and heard it, said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice hasn’t come for my sake, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” But he said this, signifying by what kind of death he should die.

Today, we commemorate the discovery of the original cross of Jesus by Helena in 320. The cross is an offence to all religious ideas. Even among Christians, the cross offends. Some Christians are offended by crucifixes because we worship the risen Christ. But even an empty cross is a symbol of the crucifixion. The cross would still be empty even if Jesus never rose from the dead. Some believe that focusing on the crucified Christ is a denial of the resurrection. But the Apostle Paul said that he preached nothing but Christ-crucified and he certainly did not deny the resurrection.

Through baptism we become partakers of the crucifixion with Christ and have the hope that because we are partakers in His crucifixion we will be partakers in His resurrection when He returns. But it is a huge mistake to act as if we are already resurrected. There can be no resurrection without death and in this present life we are partakers in the crucifixion by our own experience. We are given faith to believe that we will be partakers in the resurrection but most of the time the crucifixion is the only thing that we experience. Those who pretend to live the resurrected life right now are living in a fantasy world where "now I am happy all the day." They refuse to bear their own crosses and will certainly not help bear the crosses of others. How can they bear their crosses when they don't believe they exist?

We all do this. We embrace the resurrection without death ideology of Americanism and teach that anyone can do whatever they want if he just believes in himself. If you want to be rich and famous all you have to do is try harder. Anyone who can't get a job or make enough money to support his family just isn't trying hard enough. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and say, "Yes I can!"

The cross says "No you can't!" If you could, God wouldn't be hanging dead on a cross for you. The cross is a denial of any crazy ideas you might have about trying harder. The cross says, "This is how bad you really are. You are so, so terribly bad that God had to die because of you and your good deeds."

That is why the cross is so offensive. The cross is the judgment of the world. The cross tells every single person, "This is how bad you really are!" We hated God so much that we killed Him. But God loves us so much that He died for us, even for the sin of killing Him. Could you imagine doing that for anyone? How about everyone? Imagine that everyone in the world hated you, not because you had done something wrong to them, but because they had done many wrong and horrible things. Why on earth would you want to die for these ungrateful people who want nothing more than to kill you? The cross is absolute foolishness.

In the sacrament of the altar Christ feeds us the very blood from His side. Christ gives Himself for you because Christ loves you.

Trinity 15: A Devotional Commentary

1 Kings 17:8-16 The word of Yahweh came to him, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks: and he called to her, and said, “Please get me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” As she was going to get it, he called to her, and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” She said, “As Yahweh your God lives, I don’t have a cake, but a handful of meal in the jar, and a little oil in the jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you have said; but make me of it a little cake first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make some for you and for your son. For thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of meal shall not empty, neither shall the jar of oil fail, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the earth.’” She went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, ate many days. The jar of meal didn’t empty, neither did the jar of oil fail, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by Elijah.

Galatians 5:25-6:10 If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit. Let’s not become conceited, provoking one another, and envying one another. Brothers, even if a man is caught in some fault, you who are spiritual must restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to yourself so that you also aren’t tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if a man thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each man test his own work, and then he will take pride in himself and not in his neighbor. For each man will bear his own burden. But let him who is taught in the word share all good things with him who teaches. Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don’t give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let’s do what is good toward all men, and especially toward those who are of the household of the faith.

Matthew 6:24-34 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon. Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing? See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they? Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan? Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith? Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.

The Gospel passage is not speaking of extraordinary luxury items. The Gospel passage speaks of the necessities of day to day life. This is not the time to go point the finger at the rich guy who is obsessed with earning more money. He is certainly included but it also includes the poorest of the poor. This passage addresses those who are simply concerned with having a little food to fill their bellies and would prefer not to starve to death. Even in America, where most of us are not starving to death, we worry. We worry about our 401k or about losing our jobs. We worry about the current political administration. And if you turn on the Christian radio stations they won't help. They'll tell you all about how you need to go out and campaign and get certain people elected or you'll have to tell your grandchildren about how it's all your fault that they don't have any money. There's always some sort of epidemic on the news that we are supposed to be worried about--H1N1, lead paint, tainted spinach, high taxes, universal health care, lack of universal health care, etc.

Even those who sort of get this passage seem to get it wrong. They read the passage and turn it into a way of determining who is or isn't a "real" Christian. Look at all the overtime Bob is working and how competitive he is. He's probably not a "real" Christian. Or is Bob doing enough for the kingdom to prove he is a "real" Christian? How many conversions has Bob made?

These words of Scripture show us OUR sin. We all worship the god of money. We all worry. But these words should also bring us great comfort. We can't do it ourselves. God provides for us. God provides for all of creation and He certainly provides for His own children. He is our Father. He loves us. If God did not love us He would not have died for us. Seek first the kingdom of God. Seek the forgiveness of sins in the preaching of the Word and the administration of Christ's very body and blood. Seeking the kingdom is all about receiving. We do not seek the kingdom by our own works. We receive the kingdom. We receive Christ. Christ gives us Himself. Because we have been given Christ, we do not need to worry about all these other things.

Trinity 14: A Devotional Commentary

Proverbs 4:10-23 Listen, my son, and receive my sayings. The years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom. I have led you in straight paths. When you go, your steps will not be hampered. When you run, you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction. Don’t let her go. Keep her, for she is your life. Don’t enter into the path of the wicked. Don’t walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, and don’t pass by it. Turn from it, and pass on. For they don’t sleep, unless they do evil. Their sleep is taken away, unless they make someone fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is like the dawning light, that shines more and more until the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness. They don’t know what they stumble over. My son, attend to my words. Turn your ear to my sayings. Let them not depart from your eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and health to their whole body. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life.

Galatians 5:16-22 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith...

Luke 17:11-19 It happened as he was on his way to Jerusalem, that he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance. They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” It happened that as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?” Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.”

Is the Gospel reading just there to remind us that we better say thank you? Absolutely not. The Gospel reading shows us that we are dead in our sins and that Jesus is our only hope. All ten lepers received physical healing from Jesus but only one of them was given faith to see his own deadness. The others just wanted a Messiah to come along and help them out when things got bad. They want the kind of Jesus we all want at times--the kind that will get you a new job when you get fired or heal your sick relative. But the tenth was given faith. By faith he was able to see his own deadness and by faith he was able to see that he needed resurrection, not a dermatologist. By faith he saw that Jesus is God and that only Jesus can resurrect him. The other nine looked alot better but they were dead. They received an excellent embalming but they were still dead. Through faith we see our deadness. Through faith we see that Jesus has done so much more than rescue us from our temporal sufferings. Through faith we see that Jesus gives Himself for us. We are buried with Christ in baptism and so we will be partakers in His resurrection.